The Shadow Queen

The Shadow Queen (Paperback)

Description

The daughter of actors, Claudette has been playing different roles since she was a child. After settling in Paris, where her mother becomes a star, Claudette finds a position as personal assistant to Athénaïs de Montespan, the highly influential mistress of Louis XIV, and France’s “Shadow Queen.” But amid the gilded opulence of the newly-constructed Versailles, she is shocked to discover that the Court’s veneer of respectability and glamour conceals just as many plots and deceptions as the stage.

As she is caught up in Athénaïs’s paranoia and desperation to keep the King’s attention, Claudette is forced to consider a move that will risk her own life—and that of the family she loves so dearly.

About the Author

SANDRA GULLAND is the author of Mistress of the Sun and the Josephine B. Trilogy, which have collectively sold well over a million copies worldwide.

Praise for The Shadow Queen…

“Truly magnificent and a joy to read. . . . You are in the hands of a master storyteller.” —M.J. Rose, international bestselling author of The Book of Lost Fragrances

“Vivid. . . .A captivating glimpse into the theater, Court life, and black arts of seventeenth-century Paris.” —Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls

“An epic feast for the senses. . . . Sandra Gulland proves herself a master of not only storytelling but stagecraft and illusion, as well.” —Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife

“Will remind readers why they fall in love with the past. Gulland uses her meticulous research with consummate skill. . . . Masterful.” —Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Death in the Floating City